The fate of those who try to destroy Israel

Who would have predicted that this year we’d be celebrating Purim, not only in March, but multiple times as each of the enemies, who intended to put an end to Israel, came to their own demise? That’s exactly how it felt a week ago when we officially learned that Israel’s greatest enemy, Hezbollah leader, Hassan Nasrallah had been eliminated by the very country he had soon hoped to see erased from the map. Now, it’s been confirmed that his successor, Hashem Safieddine has also met his end.

No less dangerous than the despised Haman, who sought to eradicate all of the Jewish people in the kingdom of Shushan, located today in Iran, Nasrallah, especially seemed to get great pleasure from taking to the airwaves just to make sure that everyone heard him declare, “no place in Israel would be spared from their rockets.”

But his years of plotting the demise of the Jewish homeland came to an abrupt end a week ago Friday night when 83 tons of explosives were dropped on his bunker, turning him into just another failure in a long list of Jew haters who ended up prematurely meeting their Maker, rather than succeeding in their attempts to achieve what no one else has been able to do – override God’s plan and purpose of the people He personally chose to fulfill a role no one else could – a light to the nations.

What Nasrallah failed to consider was that each time this objective has been tried, throughout history, it ended in disaster for those who inspired such thinking. It happened in the case of Haman, Herod, Hitler, Hamas and now Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah. What a coincidence that each one of them had an “H” in their names. In fact, one of those plots also began with an H – the Holocaust.

Perhaps, just a coincidence, but here’s what isn’t a coincidence. The Jewish people have remained and even flourished, throughout history, despite being hunted down in each generation, as we read in our Passover Haggadah each year. They have accrued honor, renown and respect for their achievements, advances and inspiration they have given to others through their many contributions to humanity.

Conversely, all of the villains of the Jewish people have ended up as a laughing stock, clownish figures and a reviled and scorned character whose name engenders the thought of evil and derision. Take, for example, Haman. Each year, during Purim, as Megillat Esther is read when his name is mentioned, we are all instructed to boo as loud as possible. Can you imagine being remembered, for all posterity, in such a shameful way?

Then there is Hitler, whose ridiculous half-moustache has been drawn on the faces of those who people wanted to deface or whose standing they wanted to diminish. Association with Hitler is to be listed among the ranks of Satan, himself. Relegated to the worst possible representation of mankind, there is no greater offense or slur found when referring to an individual who is likened to him. 

Now there is Hassan Nasrallah and Hamas, who have become the punchline of every hysterical meme that can be invented. Once the news of the exploding pagers hit the public, the jokes were never-ending, each more creative than the other. A chat group text read over and over, “Ahmed has left the group,” displaying the fact that many, with the same name, were now no longer among the living.

Another meme went on to show a Hezbollah terrorist discovering vital missing parts of his body while finally seeing his dream of the 72 virgins for which he waited all his life. 

In short, there will be no legacy of respect, honor or admiration left by any who have wasted their lives in the pursuit of eradicating the Jewish people. It’s sad, because if we all get just one crack at life, shouldn’t we endeavor to live it in a way that will provoke others to also achieve the memory of a life well spent? Helping others and leaving a mark that made some kind of a difference must be our goal, even if it was only to our small sphere of friends and family.

But this will not be what is recalled by generations yet to come, when reading about pathetic, amoral people who allowed Jewish Derangement Syndrome to well up in their hearts, to the point of feeling the need to act on their impulses to rid the world of the ethnicity which they viewed as too unworthy to breathe the same air. 

It is sad to think that these individuals not only ruin their own lives but also the existence of those around them, because, in the case of Hamas and Hezbollah, our modern-day Hamans, they have chosen to allow their hatred and bitterness, of Israel and the Jewish people, to infect all those around them who end up paying a heavy price, often becoming the collateral damage of the ongoing fight to finish off the Jews. 

Ironically, they are the ones who have always been used as the expendable tools implemented in the pointless game of antisemitism, where no one wins. The bitter bile of obsession against the Jews ruins all that is good, beautiful and worthwhile during life’s precious and limited journey. But this is a lesson which the haters never learn, because they are infused with a terminal illness that only ends when someone else halts their insanity. That is what happened to Hassan Nasrallah. 

His empty threats resulted in his having to live out his life in an underground bunker, devoid of the beauty of nature, fresh air and the enjoyment one should realize from a loving family and the personal pride and satisfaction which comes from having made a difference in the lives of others. These have been the missing elements within each and every terrorist who has cheapened the value of life for themselves and those who had the misfortune of being within their reach.

Nasrallah is no more, and we can only hope that this is followed by Sinwar and his followers who foolishly chose the path of destruction and contempt for their fellow man. May this be the beginning of a sweet year as we continue to witness the demise of those who intended to strike us, because with the passing of each one, we will be able to confidently say, “Another one bites the dust.”